BOTANICAL/COMMERCIAL CLASSIFICATION: Rosa hybrida/Hybrid Tea Rose Plant.
VARIETAL DENOMINATION: cv. xe2x80x98Meikarouzxe2x80x99.
The new variety of Rosa hybrida Hybrid Tea rose plant was created by artificial pollination wherein two parents were crossed which previously had been studied in the hope that they would contribute the desired characteristics. The female parent (i.e., the seed parent) is the xe2x80x98Meihirvinxe2x80x99 variety (non-patented in the United States). The male parent (i.e., the pollen parent) was the product of the pollination of the xe2x80x98Meinuzetenxe2x80x99 variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,224) and the xe2x80x98Meicapulaxe2x80x99 variety (non-patented in the United States). The parentage of the new variety can be summarized as follows:
xe2x80x98Meihirvinxe2x80x99xc3x97(xe2x80x98Meinuzetenxe2x80x99xc3x97xe2x80x98Meicapulaxe2x80x99). 
The seeds resulting from the above pollination were sown and small plants were obtained which were physically and biologically different from each other. Selective study resulted in the identification of a single plant of the new variety.
It was found that the new variety of Hybrid Tea rose plant of the present invention possesses the following combination of characteristics:
(a) exhibits a semi-upright growth habit,
(b) abundantly forms attractive fragrant very double blossoms that are velvety dark red in coloration,
(c) forms dense medium green semi-glossy foliage,
(d) exhibits good vigor, and
(e) is particularly well suited for growing as attractive ornamentation in the landscape.
The new variety well meets the needs of the horticultural industry and can be grown to advantage in parks and gardens.
The new variety of the present invention can be readily distinguished from its ancestors. More specifically the red flowers of the xe2x80x98Meihirvinxe2x80x99 variety are quartered when fully open. The flowers of the xe2x80x98Meinueztenxe2x80x99 variety are red-orange in coloration on the obverse, golden yellow on the reverse, and commonly display a substantially lesser petal number of approximately 33 on average. The flowers of the xe2x80x98Meicapulaxe2x80x99 variety are medium pink in coloration and also possess a lesser number of petals that commonly averages approximately 35.
The new variety has been found to undergo asexual propagation in France by a number of routes, including budding, grafting, and cuttage. Asexual propagation by the above-mentioned techniques in France has shown that the characteristics of the new variety are stable and are strictly transmissible by such asexual propagation from one generation to another.
The new variety has been named the xe2x80x98Meikarouzxe2x80x99 variety.